In Assorted Crisis Events #1, it’s the end of the world, in more ways than one. Prepare for a comic book like no other.
From award-winning team of Deniz Camp (Absolute Martian Manhunter), artist Eric Zawadzki (House of El), colourist Jordie Bellaire (Birds of Prey), and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, comes Assorted Crisis Events. This action-packed, chaotic, multi-apocalyptic series pushes the boundaries of the comic medium, while also being grounded enough to tell a very human story.
Assorted Crisis Events unfolds on a version of Earth where time has become so distorted that events and people from the distant past and far future collide — bringing their battles, wars and politics to the modern day. As Doctor Who would put it, it’s chock-full of “wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey” stuff. For instance, World War 3 and World War 4 happen simultaneously. Behind every corner there could be cavemen, medieval knights, cyborg soldiers, and other unlikely entities. Every page will shock you, surprise you, or simply bewilder you.
Each issue of the comic tells individual stories of people trying to deal with the world-shattering time-flux known as ‘The Crisis.” Issue #1 follows Ashley, who’s just trying to live a regular life amid all the chaos surrounding her. But naturally, it’s hard to live normally when there’s potential death and world-ending events lurking around every corner.
The debut issue focuses largely on exposition, which is fair. The world of Assorted Crisis Events is chaotic and frenzied (in the best way, I must add). It shows a lot without actually explaining much. How did the Crisis even begin? Well, we don’t know. But we do know that its impact has been utterly catastrophic.
For Ashley, who’s just trying to navigate through a regular day, the Crisis trips her up at every hurdle. From the moment she wakes up to find her sentimental clock is damaged by the chaos outside, to those people trying to make a quick buck by producing movies out of the bizarre things that take place in the world.
The world Camp has created is exaggerated (clearly, you don’t need me to tell you that), but it holds significance to the real world. Amid everything that we see happening today, it’s easy to lose track of time, just like our protagonist of issue #1. The Doomsday Clock is ever ticking away…
With Assorted Crisis Events, Deniz Camp has crafted a world that I already want to dive back into. The Crisis is a world of imagination where no story that Camp wants to tell is off the table, no matter how off-the-wall it may be. And the choice to tell stories through the eyes of normal people keeps the comic as grounded as possible. We can relate to the protagonist, and the personal moments give readers a chance to breathe.
In addition, the art, colouring and lettering is splendid. The comic flows excellently. It’s humungous in scale, and yet we still feel the emotions in each character. In issue #1, Ashley stays at the centre of the narrative instead of letting the immense, complex world overshadow her.
This is a comic that pushes the boundaries of the medium. It revels in the chaos it creates, but still tells a brilliant story. It’ll leave you craving more. It feels like Camp has merely scratched the surface of potential stories.
Assorted Crisis Events hits shelves March 12. Volume 1 is out later this year, and you can order it on Amazon here.
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